Welded railroad rail grinding apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for grinding welded joints between railroad rails has a chassis adapted to be supported on and moved longitudinally along the rails of a railroad track, and grinding members carried by the chassis for grinding the rough newly welded joints between rails. The chassis includes a base assembly carrying a pair of longitudinally spaced rollers adapted to rest on one of the rails of the track while welded joints in said rail are ground, and a laterally extending stabilizer arm carrying another roller adapted to rest on the opposite rail of the track. One of the grinding members is tiltable from side to side for grinding the top and side surfaces of the ball or crown portion of the rail at a welded joint, and two additional grinding members disposed on opposite sides of the rail are movable horizontally and vertically for grinding the side surfaces of the web and the top surfaces and side edges of the base flange of the rail. The movements of the grinding members are manually controlled, and safety shields are provided for protecting the operator of the apparatus from injury during the grinding operations.

United States Patent [1 1 Cooley 1 1 WELDED RAILROAD RAIL GRINDING APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Lush E. Cooley, 1835 Wilson Ave,

Cleveland, Termv 37311 22 Filed: Sept. 6, 1974 21 Applt No.:503,852

[52] US. Cl. 51/178 [51] Int. Cl B23p 23/04 [58] Field of Search t. 51/178, 99

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,067,624 7/1913 Simard et a1 t t t 51/178 2,073,816 3/1937 Talboys i i t i t i 51/178 2,118,621 5/1938 Perazzoli 4 t 51/178 3,358,406 12/1967 Speno et al.... 51/178 3,738,066 6/1973 Panetti 51/178 Primary Examiner-Donald G. Kelly Assistant ExaminerRobert C. Watson Attorney, Agent, or FirmCameron, Kerkam. Sutton, Stowell & Stowell -[451 May 13, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for grinding welded joints between railroad rails has a chassis adapted to be supported on and moved longitudinally along the rails of a railroad track, and grinding members carried by the chassis for grinding the rough newly welded joints between rails. The chassis includes a base assembly carrying a pair of longitudinally spaced rollers adapted to rest on one of the rails of the track while welded joints in said rail are ground, and a laterally extending stabilizer arm carrying another roller adapted to rest on the opposite rail of the track. One of the grinding members is tiltable from side to side for grinding the top and side surfaces of the ball or crown portion of the rail at a welded joint, and two additional grinding members disposed on opposite sides of the rail are movable horizontally and vertically for grinding the side surfaces of the web and the top surfaces and side edges of the base flange of the rail. The movements of the grinding members are manually controlled, and safety shields are provided for protecting the operator of the apparatus from injury during the grinding operations.

12 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures 74 a a i 27 g 2 as l 32 44 76 I2 22 152 66 4o 50 I o 72 j I o V 1 20 I Z 125 1561 'V 64 '1 44 a4 1 I s4 l g s 2 so 140 128 j I 5 2| 1. in; Mr: I--- 10 jllll l" dam it. "111m lent l??? l WELDED RAILROAD RAIL GRINDING APPARATUS This invention relates to apparatus for grinding welded joints between railroad rails, and more partieularly to improved apparatus of this type adapted to be supported on and moved longitudinally along the rails of an existing railroad track. and which provides a sim ple, rapid, inexpensive and convenient method for fin ish grinding and stress relieving newly welded joints in such rails. The apparatus is so constructed as to be operable by one man, particularly the man by whom the welds are made, and is capable of producing a completely ground joint in less than I minutes. Being mounted on and movable along a rail in which welded joints are being formed, grinding ofthe rough joint can be carried out while the weld metal is still hot, thereby providing stress relief and increasing the strength of the finished joint.

The grinding of welded railroad rail joints in situ has heretofore usually been carried out by the use of hand held grinding elements. However, Ackerman US. Pat. No. 2,926,460 discloses a rail grinding machine embodying a pair of laterally spaced grinding wheels for simultaneously grinding the lower surface of the crown or ball portion, the upper surface of the base portion and the web portion of the rail, and a base grinding unit having a grinding wheel which is vertically adjustable to engage the bottom of the base flange of the rail. The Ackerman machine is not usable on an existing railroad track, but is mounted on a railroad flatcar and includes rollers above the main structure for supporting a longitudinally movable, butt welded railroad rail. The Ackerman patent also fails to include any means for grind ing the top surface of the rail. The patent to Slattery US. Pat. No. 3,090,170 also discloses apparatus for grinding the welded areas of a railroad rail while the rail is moving after it leaves a welding mechanism. In Slattery, a plurality of abrasive grinding belts are urged by pressure operated rollers against different areas of the welded rail joints. However, the Slattery apparatus does not include any means for grinding the weld metal on side surfaces of the rail web.

In general, the improved apparatus of the present invention for grinding welded joints between railroad rails comprises a chassis which is supportable on and movable longitudinally along the rails of an existing railroad track, and power driven grinding members carried by the chassis for grinding the rough, newly welded joints between rails. The chassis includes a base assembly carrying a pair of longitudinally spaced rollers adapted to rest on one of the rails of the track while welded joints are formed in said rail, and a laterally extending stabilizer arm carrying another roller adapter to rest on the opposite rail of the track.

At the front of the machine, a grinding stone is so mounted as to be tiltable from side to side and also movable vertically with respect to the rail for grinding the top and side surfaces of the ball portion of the rail at a welded joint. At the rear end of the machine, two additional grinding members disposed on opposite sides of the rail are so mounted as to be movable horizontally and vertically for grinding the side surfaces of the web and the top surfaces and side edges of the base flange of the rail. The grinding members are driven by means of belts from an internal combustion engine or electric motor mounted on a supporting platform forming part of the chassis of the machine, and are shrouded by safety shields for protecting the operator of the machine during the grinding operations.

The grinding member at the front end of the machine is mounted on a vertical shaft which is journaled in a bearing carried by the platform, while the vertical shafts of the two grinding members at the rear of the machine are journaled in bearings carried by a pair of movable support arms which are journaled on a cylindrical bearing surrounding the vertical power shaft of the engine or motor so that the arms may be moved toward and away from the rail on which the machine is mounted. Latch members are provided for maintaining the grinder support arms in an outward position, fixed to the platform of the machine, except when these grinding members are being used for grinding the web and base flange of the rail.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters identify like parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the rail grinding machine of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view ofthe pivoting web grinding arms;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front and rear elevation views of the apparatus of FIG. I;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing the crown of the rail being ground;

FIG. 8 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken along line 8--8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of the machine when in grinding engagement with the crown of a welded rail;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the roller supported base assembly and associated structure;

FIG. II is a longtitudinal vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing the web of the rail being ground;

FIG. I2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken along line l2l2 in FIG. II; and

FIG. 13 is a rear view of the machine taken from line 13-13 in FIG. 11.

Referring first to FIGS. I and 2, the portable rail grinding machine of the present invention indicated generally by the reference numeral 2, is supported on a welded jointed rail 4 by a chassis having a base assembly 6 comprising an inverted channel member 8 carrying at its ends a pair of track engaging rollers 10 and 12, respectively. The width of rollers 10 and 12 is such as to allow acceptance between the end flanges 14 thereof of even the widest rail crown presently in use. The channel member 8 has welded thereto on opposite sides, normal to its longitudinal axis and approximately centered with respect to its length, a pair of pivot stub shafts 16 which are journalled in suitable bearings I8 carried by a pair of vertical posts 20. Welded or otherwise attached to the tops of posts 20 is a platform 22. Immediately adjacent the pivot stub shafts l6 and fixed to base 8 is located a laterally extending inverted channel member 24 the purpose of which will be described hereinafter,

A suitable power source, such as a gasoline engine 26 and starting battery 27, is mounted on the platform 22, and has a vertical downwardly extending power output shaft 28 provided at its lower end with a multiple pulley drive sheave 30. A clutch control handle 29 is provided for connecting and disconnecting the output shaft of engine 26 to and from power output shaft 28. At opposite ends of the platform 22, pairs of outwardly divergent front and rear handles 32 and 34 are provided for manipulating the machine while in operation. At the front end 36 of the machine a vertical grinding arbor shaft 38, suitably enclosed in a shroud 40, is mounted in bearings 44 bolted to a pair of spaced channels 42 which are fixed to platform 22. A thick crown grinding stone 46. backed by a circular base plate 48. is screwed to the bottom end of arbor shaft 38, and a multiple pulley sheave 50 is mounted on shaft 38 between support bearings 44. A pair of drive belts 52 are trained about drive sheave 30 and multiple pulley sheave 50 to provide power to the crown grinding stone 46.

At the rear end 54 of the grinding machine, a pair of pivoted web grinder support arms. generally indicated by reference number 56, are concentrically mounted about the drive motor shaft 28. The web grinder support arm 56 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 7) consist of channel members 58 having overlapping apettured bearing receiving plates 60 and 62 welded to their inner ends and journaled on a cylindrical bearing 61 surrounding shaft 28. At the outer end of each support arm 56 are bolted a pair of vertically spaced bearings 64 which journal vertical arbor shafts 66 and 68 to which are affixed, as by bolting. web grinding stones 70 partially enclosed by shrouds 7]. As indicated in FIG. 1, the grinder support arms 56 can be freely moved about cylindrical bearing 61 toward each other by handles 34 in order to grind the vertical web portion of the welded joint. A pair of latch members 72 are provided for locking arms 56 in an inoperative position while the crown S of rail 4 is being ground by stone 46.

As shown in FIG. 3, the platform 22 is normally maintained in a horizontal. parallel relationship with respect to base assembly 6 and rail 4 by an adjustable support rod 74 which rests on the upper end of a L shaped bracket 84 fixed to and extending upwardly from the front end of roller carrying channel member 8. A tubular. vertical housing 76 having a longitudinal bayonet slot 78 (HO. 8) therein is welded to the platform 22 near its front end. An operating knob 80, integral with support rod 74, slides vertically in slot 78 to lift support rod 74 from contact with bracket 84, thereby allowing the machine to pivot about the transverse horizontal axis of pivot shafts 16. The machine can then be rocked downward, as shown in FIG. 7, to bring grinding stone 46 in contact with the top, or crown. of the welded joint J.

As can be seen in F1655, 6 and 9, the crown or ball of the rail is provided with radiused or rounded lateral edges. Means are therefore provided to rock the machine laterally. i.e.. side-to-side. in order to accom plish grinding of the radiused edges of the rail crown. To this end. a stabilizer arm 86 extends laterally from inverted channel member 24 across the track bed to the opposite parallel rail R. The outer end 88 of stabi lizer arm 86 is provided with a rail engaging roller 90 and a pivoted bail hook 92 adapted to surround the outer edge of the crown of rail R and prevent accidental tip-over of the machine while rocking motion is being imparted thereto. At its inner end. stabilizer arm 86 is provided with a pin 94, best seen in FIG. 10, and an enlarged aperture 96 is provided at each end of the top portion of channel member 24 through which pin 94 may selectively extend so that stabilizer arm 86 may extend to either side of the base assembly 6. The apertures 96 are of greater diameter than pin 94 to allow ample room for the pin to oscillate therein. The upper end of pin 94 has a transverse bore 98 adapted to receive a locking pintle 100 which prevents withdrawal of the pin from aperture 96. A locking clamp assembly, indicated generally at 102, is provided with a pair of eccentric locking cams 104 welded to the lower ends of a bifuracted bracket 106, which is also provided with aligned bores 107 adapted to receive the locking pintle 100. The cams 104 are thus maintained in engagement with the upper surface of channel member 24. An operating handle 108 is also welded to bracket 106. When the handle 108 is raised to a vertical position, as shown in FIG. 5, stabilizer arm 86 is securely nested within channel member 24 in a horizontal position fixed with respect to channel member 24. Alternatively. when handle 108 is lowered to a horizontal position. stabilizer arm 86 will be free to pivot in a vertical plane relative to channel member 24 about the axis of pintle 100. Sufficient lost motion is provided by the enlarged aperture 96 to allow the machine to be rocked from side to side by handles 32, as indicated in FIG. 9, so as to grind the rounded edges of the crown of rail 4.

In order to provide adequate downward grinding pressure on the crown of the rail. 21 winch indicated generally at 110 is mounted transversely of the platform 22. As shown best in FIG. 2, the winch 110 consists of a handle 112, ratchet 114 and paw] 116, all of which are mounted on transverse shaft 118. A draw cable has its upper end fixed to shaft 118 and its lower end secured by suitable means to channel member 8 of the base assembly 6. By cranking the handle 112 in a clockwise direction, the draw cable 120 causes platform 22 to be drawn downward toward the base 6, thereby increasing grinding pressure on the crown of rail 4 and joint J. In addition. as shown best in FIGS. l-3 and 7, a handle 122 is provided near the front of the machine, being mounted on a tubular supporting structure 124 fixed to and extending upwardly from platform 22. The operator of the machine can utilize the handle 122 in exerting downward pressure while grinding the crown of joint J. supplementing the pressure produced by winch 110.

Power is supplied to web grind stones 70 by means of multiple drive belts 12S and 126 trained about multiple power pulley sheave 30 and arbor sheaves 128 and 130 on arbor shafts 66 and 68, respectively. The tension of belts 12S and 126 may be adjusted by means of idler tension rollers 136 which are mounted on vertical spindles 138 carried by slides 140 (see FIG. 12). The slides 140 are manually slidable in guides 142 inwardly and outwardly relative to channel members 58, and are fixed in adjusted position by handles [32 and 134 which are threaded at their lower ends through the bottorn flanges of channel members 58 into engagement with slides 140, and extend upwardly through openings 144 in the upper flanges of said members and through elongated openings 146 in platform 22.

In operating the machine of the present invention. assuming that it is not already mounted on the rails of a railway track. the grinder support arms 56 at the rear of the machine are fixed to the platform 22 in their outward positions by latch members 72, the platform is immobilized with respcct to base assembly 6 by means of support rod 74 and winch 110, and the entire machine is then lifted by handles 32 and 34 and placed on the track with rollers and 12 resting on the rail the joints of which are to be welded and ground. The stabilizer arm 86 having been fixed to channel member 24 in a horizontal position by means of locking clamp assembly 102, the roller 90 will also rest on the opposite rail. The machine may then be moved manually along the rails until the front end of the machine is brought into position with the crown grinding stone 46 above the newly welded joint.

The engine 26 is then started by battery 27 and its clutch is engaged by handle 29 so as to rotate power output shaft 28 and thru belts 52 provide power to the crown grinding stone 46. The locking clamp assembly 102 is next released to permit side-to-side tilting movement of the chassis of the machine, the bail hook 92 is lowered so as to prevent tip-over of the machine, and the support rod 74 is raised to its upper position so that, by downward movement of handles 32, the stone 46 may be forced into engagement with the rough weld metal at the crown portion of the rail. Grinding pressure on the crown of the rail may be increased by cranking handle [12 of the winch 110. Due to the lost motion provided by the enlarged aperture 96 in channel member 24, the machine may be rocked from side to side by handles 32 so as to grind the rounded edges of the crown of the rail.

After grinding of the crown of the welded joint is completed, the pawl 116 of winch assembly 110 is released from ratchet 114 to permit the platform 22 to be raised to its normal position in which the support rod 74 is lowered into engagement with support bracket 84 so as to immobilize platform 22 with respect to base assembly 6. The machine is then moved forwardly along rail 4 by means of handles 34 until web grinding stones 70 are opposite the welded joint, whereupon latches 72 are released so that grinder arms 56 may be moved inwardly about bearing 61 to bring grinding stones 70 into engagement with the outwardly projecting weld metal on the web of rail 4. By moving handles 34 upwardly and downwardly, inwardly and outwardly, the weld metal at the sides of the rail web and the top and side edges of the rail flange can be ground to provide a finished welded joint. During the grinding operation, the operator is effectively protected from injury by shrouds 40 and 71 which partially enclose grinding stones 46 and 70, respectively.

When grinding of the joint J has been completed, the machine is pushed along the rails of the track until the crown grinding stone 46 is positioned above the next welded joint in the rail 4, whereupon the sequence of grinding operations is repeated.

There is thus provided by the present invention a new and improved apparatus for grinding welded joints between railroad rails which is particularly adapted for use in grinding joints between the rails of existing railroad tracks so as to increase the riding qualities of trains using said tracks and to permit the operation of such trains at highter speeds than those normally permissible. Although only one embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made in the form, details of construction and arrangement of the parts of the machine without departing from the inventive concept. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for grinding welded joints between the rails of a railroad track comprising a chassis including a base assembly carrying a pair of longitudinally spaced rollers adapted to rest on one of the rails of the track and a laterally extending stabilizer arm carrying another roller adapted to rest on the opposite rail of the track, a platform mounted on said base assembly, a source of power mounted on said platform, at one end of said chassis a grinding element carried by said platform and rotatable by said power source about a normally vertical axis, means for tilting the axis of said grinding element from side to side and also moving said grinding element vertically with respect to said base assembly so as to grind the top and side surfaces of the ball portion ofa welded joint in the first mentioned rail, at the other end of said chassis two additional grinding elements carried by said platform rotatable by said power source about normally vertical axes and disposed on opposite sides of the said first mentioned rail, and means for moving said additional grinding elements horizontally towards and away from one another and vertically with respect to said base assembly so as to grind the side surface of the web portion and the top surfaces and side edges of the base flange portion of said welded joint.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including shroudes for said grinding elements to protect the operator shrouds the apparatus from injury during the grinding operation.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said base assembly includes a pair of laterally extending stub shafts on which said platform is journalled, and handle means fixed to said platform for manually oscillating the platform in a vertical plane about said stub shafts.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 including manu ally releasable means for normally maintaining said platform in horizontal, parallel relationship with respect to said base assembly.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 including means for forcing the forward end of said platform downwardly toward said base assembly.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said power source includes a vertical downwardly extending output shaft having a drive sheave fixed to its lower end, and each of said grinding elements includes an upwardly extending shaft carrying a driven sheave, and including drive belts for transmitting power from said drive sheave to said driven sheaves.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 including means for adjusting the tension of at least some of said drive belts.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said grinding elements comprises a circular grinding stone secured to the lower end of one of said upwardly extending shafts.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 including a cylindrical bearing sleeve surrounding said output shaft, and wherein said means for moving said additional grinding elements comprises a pair of support arms having their forward ends concentrically journaled on said bearing sleeves and diverging rearwardly to positions beyond the rear of said platform, each of said support arms carrying the shaft of one of said additional driving elements and being manually movable in a horizontal disaid first mentioned rail, and means carried by the outer end of said stabilizer arm and engaging said opposite rail to prevent tip-over of said chassis.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1] including clamping means for fixing said stabilizer arm to said base assembly to prevent said side-to-side tilting. 

1. Apparatus for grinding welded joints between the rails of a railroad track comprising a chassis including a base assembly carrying a pair of longitudinally spaced rollers adapted to rest on one of the rails of the track and a laterally extending stabilizer arm carrying another roller adapted to rest on the opposite rail of the track, a platform mounted on said base assembly, a source of power mounted on said platform, at one end of said chassis a grinding element carried by said platform and rotatable by said power source about a normally vertical axis, means for tilting the axis of said grinding element from side to side and also moving said grinding element vertically with respect to said base assembly so as to grind the top and side surfaces of the ball portion of a welded joint in the first mentioned rail, at the other end of said chassis two additional grinding eLements carried by said platform rotatable by said power source about normally vertical axes and disposed on opposite sides of the said first mentioned rail, and means for moving said additional grinding elements horizontally towards and away from one another and vertically with respect to said base assembly so as to grind the side surface of the web portion and the top surfaces and side edges of the base flange portion of said welded joint.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including shroudes for said grinding elements to protect the operator shrouds the apparatus from injury during the grinding operation.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said base assembly includes a pair of laterally extending stub shafts on which said platform is journalled, and handle means fixed to said platform for manually oscillating the platform in a vertical plane about said stub shafts.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 including manually releasable means for normally maintaining said platform in horizontal, parallel relationship with respect to said base assembly.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 including means for forcing the forward end of said platform downwardly toward said base assembly.
 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said power source includes a vertical downwardly extending output shaft having a drive sheave fixed to its lower end, and each of said grinding elements includes an upwardly extending shaft carrying a driven sheave, and including drive belts for transmitting power from said drive sheave to said driven sheaves.
 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 including means for adjusting the tension of at least some of said drive belts.
 8. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said grinding elements comprises a circular grinding stone secured to the lower end of one of said upwardly extending shafts.
 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 including a cylindrical bearing sleeve surrounding said output shaft, and wherein said means for moving said additional grinding elements comprises a pair of support arms having their forward ends concentrically journaled on said bearing sleeves and diverging rearwardly to positions beyond the rear of said platform, each of said support arms carrying the shaft of one of said additional driving elements and being manually movable in a horizontal direction so as to move the associated grinding element into and out of engagement with said welded joint.
 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 including latch means for releasably securing said support arms to said platform in widely separated positions.
 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including means for pivotally connecting said stabilizer arm to said base assembly to permit side-to-side tilting of said chassis on said first mentioned rail, and means carried by the outer end of said stabilizer arm and engaging said opposite rail to prevent tip-over of said chassis.
 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 including clamping means for fixing said stabilizer arm to said base assembly to prevent said side-to-side tilting. 